Rheinmetall to equip Bundeswehr with new laser duel simulators

Order worth nearly €20 million

Rheinmetall AG has won an important procurement order from the Bundeswehr worth just under €20 million. The Düsseldorf-based Group will be supplying the German Army Combat Training Centre, or GÜZ, with a new generation of equipment for staging combat training exercises. Located in the Altmark district of Saxony-Anhalt, the GÜZ is one of the world’s most advanced major training areas.

Known in Bundeswehr parlance as the AGDUS HdWa (Ausbildungsgerät Duellsimulator Handwaffen = “Training Device, Duel Simulator, Small Arms”), this cutting edge laser- and wireless-supported duel simulation system is based on the Rheinmetall LEGATUS family of products, and supersedes existing first-generation Bundeswehr systems, now around twenty years old. In a Europe-wide competition, Rheinmetall’s compelling proposal for second-generation AGDUS small arms systems won the day.

Rheinmetall’s Simulation & Training business unit has signed a contract with the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) to produce and supply (among other things) more than 2,000 laser transmitter units for small arms and 1,500 soldier target sets featuring “AGDUS passiv Soldat” laser sensors. In future, it will be possible to use Bundeswehr small arms equipped with AGDUS in simulated combat operations, an option not previously available. The new technology is compatible with practically all standard-issue Bundeswehr infantry weapons, including pistols and assault rifles, the G28 and G82 sniper rifles, the MP7 submachine gun, MG4 and MG5 machineguns as well as the AG40 automatic grenade launcher and simulators for hand grenades.

The Bundeswehr thus continues to trust in the proven quality of Rheinmetall technology for instructing and training its troops. Flowing into this project, the Group’s experience in developing customized solutions for simulation-supported combat exercises will now enable even greater training realism, while simultaneously assuring maximum safety.

At the German Army Training Centre, freely configurable, multidiscipline formations of all types can be prepared for every conceivable military task in a highly realistic environment. Looking ahead, this will soon include training for operations in urban terrain and the use of Future Soldier (IdZ) equipment, responsibility for the expanded version of which (Gladius/IdZ-ES) has also been assigned to Rheinmetall.

During exercises at the GÜZ – conducted on a permanent basis – live rounds are never fired: every weapon is fitted with a laser transmitter, while sensors on potential targets indicate hits, visible to soldiers and trainers alike. Networking of all exercise participants in the system makes it possible to maximize the learning impact of the after action briefings and evaluation phase, in which individual manoeuvre sequences are analysed and potential for improvement is pointed out.